INSURANCE! - Driver not listed on policy - CLAIM DENIED! Help us protect ourselves!

Not negative at all, very fair questions. I thought I had answered most of it already but it must've been across some other posts!

1) Why so many open claims with 1 insurance company??
LOL hell if I know, maybe @Hammer166 is on to something! But realistically we do some pretty good volume, Progressive insures a huge chunk of carriers, and they love to drag their feet, so slam-dunk claims take 30-60 days.
2) Do you do anything to vet your Transporters?
We check their history and ratings on CD, Safer/FMCSA, and validate insurance.
3) How long have you been in business that you don’t insure your freight?
Just finished our 9th month! (We have extensive history with a previous brokerage). We have our own insurance policies and we've been fortunate to not need to hit them just yet.
4) Have you paid these claims yourself?
We've paid a few thousand here and there, recouped much of it from the carriers.
5) Is progressive the only insurance company you have open claims with?
Not sure what all we have open right now. I don't handle the insurance. Just citing what I know off the top of my head, and this specific post is about one of my orders.
6) How much volume do you do monthly?
4k+ cars.

 

Not negative at all, very fair questions. I thought I had answered most of it already but it must've been across some other posts!

1) Why so many open claims with 1 insurance company??
LOL hell if I know, maybe @Hammer166 is on to something! But realistically we do some pretty good volume, Progressive insures a huge chunk of carriers, and they love to drag their feet, so slam-dunk claims take 30-60 days.
2) Do you do anything to vet your Transporters?
We check their history and ratings on CD, Safer/FMCSA, and validate insurance.
3) How long have you been in business that you don’t insure your freight?
Just finished our 9th month! (We have extensive history with a previous brokerage). We have our own insurance policies and we've been fortunate to not need to hit them just yet.
4) Have you paid these claims yourself?
We've paid a few thousand here and there, recouped much of it from the carriers.
5) Is progressive the only insurance company you have open claims with?
Not sure what all we have open right now. I don't handle the insurance. Just citing what I know off the top of my head, and this specific post is about one of my orders.
6) How much volume do you do monthly?
4k+ cars.

 

Thanks for the kind words. Several of us are broker veterans with fairly stout books of business, so when we departed our former brokerage (Wholesale Express), we were very blessed to have a very large chunk of our business follow. My very good friend and owner of the current company and I were the first two employees of Wholesale Express and built it from the ground up. They do 10k+ cars a month after ~4 years.

We do need to pay closer attention to the ratings. Too many times do we have an issue, small or large, carrier doesnt answer their phone for a week, etc, we check Central for alternate info and notice "Member since Sept 2019" Rating: 100%....... 2 positives on the same day. Sigh.

We know what to look for, but we've been slammed and understaffed for a few months, probably working a little too quickly and sloppily.

Bobby Neal
Auction Direct Transport - Central Dispatch Profile

 

It's pretty tough to cut a carrier out, as carrier-direct rates are in theory leaving very little meat on the bone for a broker to pay the bills or take on any risk. At that point its rarely worth the effort, unless the carrier was absolutely thugging the dealer. And if that's the case, it's just a matter of time before another broker or even carrier tests the strength of your relationship.

Our primary customer base are large single point buyers that buy 50 or 100 single units per month scattered all over the country.

 

No doubt. I like to think we have a good understanding that without carriers we don't have much of a business. We pay promptly and have solid carrier relations. We tend to pay slightly above average... Generally more money means mine moves a lot faster than the low ballers, and that means happier dealer/customer. It's all pretty simple when everyone plays fairly.

We have almost 1,000 positives in 9 months. (notice 3k given ). We're not perfect but we're working towards it!

 

4 Nissan NVs which you can’t compare to average car or SUV.

• You left out the 200 part. NV200s which are the exact same as a Grand Caravan but 2" taller.
• We've moved about 200 of those in a week.
• You're using a 4-pack from Orlando to CA as an example of pricing?
• When FL has the most pathetic outbound rates in the nation in the fall and winter every single year?
• Should we pay $1/mile cross-country out of FL like southbound? I just want to make sure we're doing it right.